Grade 3 Lesson Plan: Suffixes

Lesson Plan for Grade 3:
Suffixes

Grade: Third Grade             Lesson Topic: Common Latin Suffixes

Candidate’s Name: Margaret Nelson

1.  Introduction:  (Identify Grade Level K12 Academic Content Standard(s), rationale, focus learner, create bridges from past learning, behavior expectations)  

This lesson is about suffixes. Suffixes are at the end of words, and they tell us more about what words mean. This lesson fulfills requirements of CSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.3.3.b: “Decode words with common Latin suffixes” (Common Core State Standards Initiative 2018).

Rationale: Since this school is in mid-year, this is around the middle of the listed California Common Core requirements for phonics.

2.  Learner Outcome(s)/Objective(s):  (What will students learn from this lesson?  How will you measure mastery of the outcome?)

Students will know what a suffix is. Students will know that suffixes help us understand the meaning of words. Students will know that suffixes occur at the end of the word. Students will know the suffixes: or, er, phone, ful, less, and like. Students will be able to match suffixes with their meanings.

Rationale: Allows for skills to be developed using both top-down and bottom-up concept development. Provides clear definition of success.

3.  Pre-assessment Activity:  (Determine students’ abilities to achieve the Learner Outcome and prescribe instruction accordingly.  Consider:  linguistic background, academic language abilities, content knowledge, cultural and health considerations, interests and aspirations, physical development, social development, emotional development. )

Class Charades: One volunteer at a time from the class acts out words provided by teacher. The first student to guess correctly receives a candy/classroom reinforcement. Words are: teacher, director, matador, surfer, boxer. During the game, write the guessed words on the whiteboard. Ask students what sound they heard at the end of all of those words. Did they notice that this “r” sound can be spelled with “er” and with “or?” Ask students what all these words referred to. Did they talk about foods? Did they talk about animals? Guide conversation to help students understand that these words all describe “people.”

Rationale: Links new material with words students have likely heard before.  “Or” words are cognates to their Spanish counterparts, which will allow Target Student 1 to bridge the new information with words he has likely heard before. This will also help the 41% ELL students in this class. This is also vocabulary building for Target Student 2.  Both Target Students get an opportunity to see collaborative learning modeled by the class, while being able to participate collaboratively in a low-stake or even no-stake experience.

4.  Differentiation, Adaptation & Accommodation Strategies:   (Based on the pre-assessments, modify Learning Activities based on learner characteristics to meet the needs of ELL & special needs students, highly achieving students and low achieving students) 

Allow a student who is more accustomed to “or” words, which are more often found in Spanish, to practice an “er” word. Encourage applause for all volunteers after every word. Provide a “backstage” area behind a desk or easel to coach student on what the word means. An example would be demonstrating for the student how to act like a surfer, and showing them a picture of the word.

Rationale: Provides a model for students to interact well as a class, perfect for the social skills of Target Student 1 and Target Student 2. Both Target Students would benefit from the ‘backstage” portion, and also from being able to use pictures, which is a natural interest for Target Student 2.   Provides differentiated instruction for all students, as each volunteer interacts 1-1 in the “backstage” planning area.

5.  Resources:  (Identify materials needed for this lesson accounting for varying degrees of skill level)

Whiteboard, charades cards/pictures, worksheet (multiple copies), red pens for worksheet corrections

Rationale: Equipment and materials are maintained and provided at school. This school has several students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and will likely not have access to materials at home, besides a pencil. This lesson plan reduces dependency on textbooks, coloring materials, or student-owned supplementary materials.

6.  Learning Activities:  Explicit Teacher Instruction - (Explain, Model, Demonstrate, Check for Understanding)

Explain that suffixes come at the end of words. Say: today, we will talk about suffixes and their meanings. There are more suffixes than the ones that make the “r” sound. Suffixes help us understand the meanings of words. Show a picture of a rainbow. Say: This rainbow is full of color. We can say this even better by saying this rainbow is “colorful.” Check for Understanding:  Can anyone guess what the suffix is in the word “colorful?” Explicit Instruction: Say: There are other suffixes that make motions! (begin moving forward) Which direction am I going right now? (begin moving backward) what about now?  Check for Understanding: Forward and backward! Does anyone hear a suffix that talks about motion? Explicit Instruction: Say: Suffixes help us understand the meanings of words. We played charades earlier, can anyone guess what I am holding? (Hold up hand like a telephone) What about now? (hold up hand like a microphone) Check for Understanding: Telephone and microphone! Does anyone hear the suffix at the end of those words? What is it? Let’s talk about what the suffix “phone” means.

Rationale:  Examples are easy to recognize and follow for both Target Students. Using “phone” sounds similar to “fono” in Spanish, allowing bilingual instruction for Target Student 1. These are also simulations for everyday objects, which will help with social and behavioral cues for Target Student 2.  Multiple opportunities to check for understanding allows me to change my instruction in-the-moment if need be, which will help keep students engaged and learning.

7.  Learning Activities: Guided Practice/ Collaborative Practice (Check for understanding and provide feedback and re-teaching)

Say: Suffixes help us understand the meanings of words. Suffixes come at the end of a word. We talked about the rainbow earlier. It was_____ (desired answer: “colorful”). What is the opposite of colorful? Is there a suffix that means it doesn’t have color? Do we know someone beautiful? What does beautiful mean? (desired answer: “full of beauty”) What is one way to say the opposite of beautiful? Can you use a suffix? Say: Suffixes help us understand the meanings of words. Ask students to close their eyes. Say: Imagine you are walking down the street. Walking normally is kind of boring, and you want to have some fun. It’s more fun to pretend you are a snake, and you start to ssssslither. You are like a snake! You move like a snake all the way to school, and when you get here, you show me your wonderful snake walk! I would probably say “Wow, that is very much like a snake!” Say: Let’s all walk in a circle around our classroom BUT I am going to use a suffix to tell you the kind of walking I would like to see. Ready? Snake-like! Rabbit-like! Snail-like! What about baby-like? What is the suffix that helps us know what we are acting as? Check for Understanding: Say: when I tap you on the shoulder, I would like you to use the suffix “like” to tell the class how to walk. (Allow students to attempt using the suffix “like” to help direct the class.

Rationale:  Several instances of checking for understanding allows me to modify teaching on-the-spot for students who are struggling. This also allows me to validate students who are using skills correctly.  Walking around and using imagination allows a multisensory approach for differentiated instruction. Using myself as the adult in the hypothetical situation instead of saying “your mother or father” prevents any hiccups in the imagined scenario, especially since these students may or may not have a parent at home. Plus, they are able to mentally visualize successful interaction in the classroom. This helps bolster Target Student 1, who has low attendance and needs more experience having success in this classroom.  Moving around is also great for Target Student 1, who is highly active, but is unable to synthesize proper interaction among peers. The multisensory approach allows Target Student 2 the opportunity to practice being still and focused momentarily, while also allowing release of stress through physical movement.

8.  Independent Practice: (Provide practice that supports the learning outcome.  Note: Independent activities are assigned assuming that students understand the concept well enough to work on their own.)

Have students return to their seats and pass out the suffix matching worksheet. Read all the words to the class. Ask class to read the words together. Give the class 5 minutes to complete the worksheets. Check for Understanding: Pass worksheets to a partner. Correct worksheets as a class. Instruct students to write the correct answer on the paper if their partner has missed any. Pass papers back to their original owners.

Rationale:  Choral reading provides practice in fluency for learners at all levels.  Correcting papers as a class allows metacognition of skills. It also builds in an opportunity for scaffolding, as challenged learners will see examples of correct answers modeled either from teacher or from students who have completed the paper correctly. This also practices metacognitive skills of correction, which the student will be able to do on their own, self-correcting as they complete assignments.  Working with partners allow both Target Students a scripted way to work on their social skills with partners and peers, and having another opportunity to complete the worksheet allows them to receive help from peers who have simply corrected their paper, since they will now be provided with the correct answer. This will help build trust and reduce fear of making mistakes.

9.  Assessment and Evaluation:  (Describe how you will assess and/or evaluate the students’ learning.   Describe differentiating assessment strategies you will use for ELL, special needs students, highly achieving students and low achieving students.)

I will examine the different suffixes on the worksheet, noticing if more are missed than others. Papers that have a passing score of 85% or lower can receive another copy of the worksheet. ELL students may need a supplementary worksheet with illustrations, allowing them to practice writing the actual words. This would be great for Target Student 1. Students at all levels who complete the activity at a score of 85% or higher are given story paper, on which they can write a story of their choosing, using as many of the suffixed words described in the lesson as possible. These can be displayed on the wall until the next unit (approx. 1 week maximum).

Rationale: Looking at the percentages of which suffixes were missed more than others helps me know which part of my teaching was not effective. Providing more practice helps reiterate that I do not give their grade; rather, students earn their grade. This also encourages self-ownership of lesson material. Highly achieving students are given the opportunity to grow and showcase their skills, and switching displayed student work consistently will allow students to feel inspired that they will have many opportunities to have their work displayed, so to keep reaching. All levels of learners should get a chance to feel as though they are “highly achieving students,” and in the meantime, viewing the work of others helps further scaffold success in lessons.

10. Closure: (Describe how students will reflect on what they have learned.)

Say: Suffixes help us understand the meaning of words. What are some of the suffixes we learned about today? Here is a word to help describe all of my students: W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L!

Rationale: Discussion allows refocus of lesson and metacognition regarding material.

Sources:

Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2018). English Language Arts Standards: Reading. Foundational Skills, Grade 3. Retrieved from: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RF/3/

Gunning, T. (2016). Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students. 9^th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson.